Packaging Operations Efficiency
Pharmaceutical packaging operations are generally labour and capital intensive and often a source of senior management frustration:
They can be expensive in terms of either labour or capital investment, and sometimes both
They can often provide non-optimal levels of service, for example long lead times or inappropriate minimum order quantities
They can be inflexible with poor utilisation
To offset these issues, supply chains are forced to either offer poor service levels or carry excess stock, with the associated issues of high working capital, aging stock and high write-offs.
A key underlying issue is aligning the demands of the product portfolio to be packed, with the capabilities of the packaging facilities utilised. Portfolio complexity is very necessary for many businesses and there are numerous factors that drive increasing complexity, including different legal requirements, increasing customer service demands and product differentiation.
There are three ways to balance these challenges effectively:
Being clear that the product portfolio is appropriate
Optimising the packaging facility design to deliver optimal service levels at minimum cost
Ensuring that key attributes of the product packaging enables the most appropriate packaging solutions to be used
To operate an effective and efficient packaging operation, all three of these issues need to be addressed.
